University political science chair weighs in on presidential election

JACKSON, Tenn. — Presidential candidates spend their last two weeks on the campaign trail as voters decide who they’re going to choose as their next president. At this point, it all depends on who decides to show up at the polls.

Dr. Sean Evans is the political science chair at Union University and says Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are making history. Statistics show about 55 percent of the public feels unfavorable to Clinton, while 60 percent feels unfavorable toward Trump.

“Turnout’s also important in the sense to where people are not sure about their candidates,” Evans said. “The question is, will they turn out and vote, or does fear of the other candidate lead them to vote?”

That’s what Dr. Evans says will decide who wins.

“That’s why we have seen ads which have basically focused on how horrible each of the candidates are, because the candidates are emphasizing fear to get people to come out and vote,” Evans said.

Evans said Evangelical Christians and women are two demographics to pay attention to. Women especially could change parties due to recent comments by Trump.

“That has especially affected college-educated white women who tend to vote republican, but this has turned this group off from other groups,” Dr. Evans said.

Evans also said Donald Trump news has dominated media more than Hillary Clinton’s email leaks, which could play a role in voter opinions. Evans also said there have been talks on Union’s campus about how a Christian should vote in this election.

So far in the state of Tennessee, nearly 500,000 people have early voted. In Madison County, more than 10,000 people voted in the first five days of early voting.